Research on People Manager Effectiveness
Hi <<First Name>>,
Very soon (if it hasn’t happened already), a 24–25-year-old will be:
- Leading a critical team
- Giving performance feedback to millennials
- Asking you for faster growth and better balance
The question is no longer “How do we hire Gen Z?”
It’s “How do we let Gen Z lead without breaking our systems?”
From Sep 2024 to Sep 2025, we analysed:
- Gen Z managers (≤25): ~100 open-text comments about how their teams experience them
- Gen Z employees (≤25): 500+ survey responses across IT/ITES, BFSI and Manufacturing
A few patterns that should make any CEO/CHRO/L&D head pause:
- Gen Z managers are strongly supportive… but falter under pressure
- Recognition is high intent, low system – appreciation exists, but it’s uneven and ad-hoc
- Middle managers are the “pressure bridge” – they score best on balance, yet carry the highest inconsistency
- 45–54 age band leaders show the widest expectation gap with Gen Z
- BFSI & Manufacturing are most at risk on conflict handling, workload fairness, and development clarity
We’ve pulled this into a concise research note with:
- The 5 leadership moves to wire into your 2026 manager capability roadmap, and
- Concrete plays for EQ, conflict, recognition, delegation and workload design
Read the full research on Gen Z redefining leadership
Last 48 days left to participate in the Great People Manager Study® 2026!
Registrations are closing soon — don’t miss your chance to:
- Be among India’s Top 100 Great People Managers™ and feature in the Economic Times
- Or among India’s Top 50 Great leaders list for CEOs / MDs / Founders
Reply to this email, and our team will help you get registered — or click below to participate now.
